Improvement in water-wheels



UNITED STATES PATENT QFFIGE.

ZAGHARIAH W. NEWMAN AND JOHN A. POWELL, OF IUKA, MISSISSIPPI.

IMPROVEMENT IN WATER-WHEELS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 172,645, dated J annary25,1876; application filed July 14, 1875. V

' To all whom it may concern:

this specification.

This invention relates to turbine waterwheels; and the nature thereofconsists in certain constructions and details to be hereinafter morefully described by the aid of the accompanying drawings and letters ofreference marked thereon, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of theimproved wheel. Fig. 2 is a sectional plan of the water-wheel. Fig. 3 isa plan of the gates.

The water-wheel m is firmly attached to an upright shaft, A, and restsupon a suitable bearing, a, and is made to revolveimmediately under thepen-stock and cistern. The water is conveyed to the wheel by the flumesG G, which are opened and closed by the gates D D. The said flumes areconstructed so as to compress the water and discharge it at the top ofthe buckets 0 0 of the wheel M. This wheel is fully shown by Fig. 2, andit will be seen that there are two discharges, o 0 o o and t t t t*. Thets discharge at the periphery of the wheel, at its outside, byperpendicular slits, and the os discharge at the bottom of the wheel, bywhich means the water gives greatly-increased force to the wheel. By

increasing the diameter of the wheel there can be a great number ofbottom and side openings. The gates rest upon the face of the flumes (lO in cistern E, and are merely sheets of metal, which are hinged uponthe shaft A at d, andall are perated upon by a simple handle, d

It is well known in water-wheels that the force of the water acting uponthe shaft is injurious, and that packing has to be used to prevent theleakage of water, which produces friction, and thereby counteracts theforce of the water. To prevent this there is raised for any desireddistance around the shaft a funnel or conical tube, N. This separatesthe water in the cistern and brings it directly out to the fluines.contrivance can be brought above the waterlevel, and thereby prevent theleakage of water upon the shaft.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States, is as follows:

The combination of the vertical shaft A pivoted at a, as described,conical shaft N, cistern E, hinged gates D D, flumes O (J, and wheel M,the several parts being constructed, arranged, and combined to operatesubstantially as described, and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our own improvement we affixour signatures in presence of two witnesses.

J AS. W THORN, J. T. BARNETT.

This said conical

